


Heat

by marriedtothedancer



Category: Code Lyoko
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Coffeeshop AU, College AU, Fluff, M/M, Snowed In, Writing Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 02:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13537548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marriedtothedancer/pseuds/marriedtothedancer
Summary: After walking in a blizzard coming from a useless nice class, all Ulrich wants is a hot chocolate. Except, he forgets his wallet. Thankfully, a stranger comes to the rescue, and Ulrich may get more than he bargained for.





	Heat

**Author's Note:**

> I love, love, love these two, and I recently have an appreciation for oneshots.

_Damn, there’s no way I can get back to my dorm._ Ulrich thought, reeling from the effects of the weather. He was caught coming back from one of his classes that just _had to happen_ according to his professor. Because, _clearly_ , the man couldn’t miss one lecture on a humanities class. Ulrich felt himself get progressively annoyed the more he thought about it. He had bigger problems to deal with after all; his dorm was still ridiculously far away from the academic building, and he knew he couldn’t last long in the weather before some serious hypothermia left him without any hands.

Ulrich shivered; it felt like his gloves, scarf, and furry olive-green jacket didn’t have any effect on keeping him warm. As he let out some air, he felt himself let out a breath that he could see in the frosty air. The freezing wind mixed with the heavy snow slapped against his face. His nose turned red from the merciless cold. Thankfully, he finally looked up to see that he had arrived at a sanctuary from the supposed “winter wonderland”; a local coffeeshop called “Aelita’s”, known for its delectable hot chocolate. It was absolutely the mood for a day as harsh as this.

The warmth from the heater immediately hit his body, and for that, he was grateful. Ulrich decided to repay the3 local delicacy and decided to head up to the barista. He admired the quaint feel of the coffeeshop; it was the perfect mix of modern with its menu selection, while throwing back to the classic college experience with décor made up of sofas, bean bags, and charging stations because, despite kids being clearly _too addicted_ to their cellphones, capitalism dictated that there should exist a cognitive dissonance within the minds of all adults to include said charging stations. Ulrich chuckled to himself; oh, college was shaping him more and more every day. That, and alcohol. Lots, and lots of alcohol.

            Ulrich stepped to the counter right after a blond sophomore just finished swiping his credit card. He looked across the menu selection frivolously, as his eyes pored over the lists of high-caffeine, sugary drinks, ranging from the standard fraps and caps to the signature specials of the week. There was something for everyone to have on this cold, winter night. Though he managed to glance at all the possible drinks, he already knew his answer before he even finished. Ulrich stepped up to the barista with as bright a smile as could be done when half of his face felt like it was encased in ice.

            “Hi, can I just get a medium Aelita with a drizzle of caramel syrup on the whipped cream?” Ulrich asked politely, as the barista simply nodded. He inputted the proper codes and values, a process that always confused Ulrich with how ridiculously large some people’s orders can be, and a price rang up on the screen.

            “That’ll be $4.99, please.” The barista held out his hand to collect the money he was owed. Ulrich reached in his pocket, before his face flushed as the horror of reality just set in. He started taking out his dorm keys, his phone, and patted himself down in his multiple jacket pockets to no avail. It was official; he had left his wallet back in class. In his mind, he could picture the black piece of leather sitting quietly on the top of his desk from some dumb university policy of having student IDs out in class for security purposes. Ulrich silently cursed under his breath as he looked worryingly to a barista getting increasingly impatient.

            “Sir, if you can’t pay, I need you step to the back of the line.”

            “Hold on, I know it’s in here somewhere…” Ulrich lied through his teeth; now he was hoping just to find enough loose change and bills to possibly pay for the hot chocolate he so desperately craved after dealing with the blizzard. Ulrich felt his eyes shift from side to side as he realized that he had absolutely no money, and that the barista was about four seconds away from keeping Ulrich from happiness.

            “It’s okay, this should cover it!” Ulrich turned to the source of the voice. He saw the same sophomore that had just finished ordering. The blond with a purple streak in his hair gave the barista a $10 bill, and was quickly met with his change. He turned back to Ulrich with a grin on his face, before he moved back to the area he was supposed to wait to receive his drink. The college kid beckoned Ulrich to come with him, and Ulrich obliged before letting him know how grateful he was.

            “Thank you so much, dude… I’ll totally find you on campus the second I get my wallet back!”

            “Don’t worry about it.” He flicked his wrist in nonchalance. Ulrich smiled, before realizing he should at least get to know the kind stranger that had helped him in a time of need.

            “What’s your name?”

            “It’s Odd. Odd Della Robbia.” Odd moved his hand forward, which was promptly shaken by Ulrich. Ulrich introduced himself, and soon the two drinks had arrived. Ulrich grabbed his hot chocolate and moved to a table. He saw Odd take a few steps to the exit.

            “Wait!” Ulrich essentially shouted, drawing all attention from the rest of the coffeeshop’s patrons. Ulrich suddenly felt aware of himself, and felt uncomfortable, but Odd read his mind. He turned his back to the exit and joined Ulrich at the small table. The stares ended, and the conversations continued into a composite white noise for the two.

            “Why’d you pay for me?” Ulrich asked, taking a swig of the hot chocolate. Instantly, he warmed up as he felt the warm liquid travel down his throat to heat up the rest of his body. To say it was just what he needed would be a vast understatement. Odd took a swig from his own drink before answering with another grin on his face that quickly turned into a devilish smirk.

            “Well, you looked like you didn’t have your wallet or any cash on you, and there’s a blizzard outside. It would’ve been cruel for you to go back to get it.” Ulrich understood the sentiment and began to take a large swig of his drink.

            “Plus, you’re pretty cute, too, so that was a nice bonus.”

            _Oh._

            Ulrich gulped down the large amount of hot chocolate in his mouth before he was ready, causing it to go down the wrong pipe. He began to have a coughing fit, as he violently cleared out his throat. Ulrich felt his face blush as red spread across his cheeks, though, if anyone had asked him, it was “only” because of the coughing. Ulrich regained his composure, but his face still painted him guilty. Odd chuckled a bit at his fellow student’s reaction.

            “W-Well, that was forward.” Ulrich said, clearing his throat. Odd only returned the same devilish grin before he took another swig of his latte with double espresso shots.

            “I mean, it’s true!” Odd replied, and Ulrich couldn’t help but have a small smile at this. The sentiment was nice, and Odd wasn’t half-bad himself. Sure, he was scrawny, but it was in a way that Ulrich couldn’t imagine him in any other way. However, Ulrich knew that he had to keep up the small talk, at least to get to know the character in front of him a little bit more.

            “So, uh… what are you studying?”

            “Oh man, I thought asking those types of questions were something freshmen did!” Odd toyed with Ulrich, enjoying the game a bit more than he had expected. Ulrich looked off in the distance sheepishly, feeling embarrassed. Odd quickly realized and put a hand on Ulrich’s shoulder. The cold sensation of his hand gave Ulrich chills for just a second, but it was _obviously_ only because of the cold.

            “I’m only messing with you. I’m going for Film and TV. You?” Ulrich turned back to see Odd give him a genuine smile filled with warmth. 

            “I’m going for Chemistry.”

            The conversation continued for hours after this, delving deeper and deeper despite the two having only met today on the chance of a random act of kindness. Ulrich learned that Odd wanted to become a director after seeing _The Shawshank Redemption,_ his favorite color was violet as denoted by his hair, and that he managed to smuggle his dog Kiwi into his dorm much to the chagrin of his roommate. Odd found out that Ulrich wanted to become a doctor despite his worries about his grades, his favorite book was _A Tree Grows in Brooklyn_ , and that he wanted to specialize in working with kids if he got to that level. The two just hit it off with each other; every single part of the conversation flowed as if it were natural. The magic of it was soon broken, however, by the sound of Ulrich yawning.

            “Tired?” Odd inquired.

            “It’s probably that I haven’t been sleeping well. It can’t be that late.” Ulrich quickly found that he was mistaken as he checked his phone to see 11:34 at night as the screen flashed to life. His eyes widened; his class had ended over four hours ago! Odd chuckled and decided that this was enough fun for one night. He got up from the red couch and extended a hand to Ulrich. Ulrich obliged his request as he got up again.

            “I don’t think I’ve ever managed to hold a conversation for over four hours.” Odd remarked, as both gathered their stuff.

            “Neither have I.”

            “I think the building with your wallet is probably closed now.” Odd joked as Ulrich lightly punched the other in his arm. Odd feigned feeling injured and pouted, to which Ulrich laughed. The two strolled, thanking the staff as they began to brave the thick snow. The wind was still blowing as hard as ever. Though they never said so, Odd walked Ulrich home traversing the bitter cold much to the worry of the latter.

            “Is your place this way, too?”

            “No, I just wanted to spend more time with you.” Odd replied bluntly yet smoothly. Though Ulrich tried to cover his face with his hood, he knew he was blushing and it wasn’t because of the icy wind slapping his face. Noticing this, Odd put on the same devilish smirk from before, and extended his left hand to Ulrich who was walking next to him as they trudged through the snow. Ulrich glanced down at the hand next to him before his eyes widened and he looked up at Odd’s face. Relenting, Ulrich took Odd’s left hand into his own right and the two walked all the way to Ulrich’s residence hall like that.

            After braving the harsh weather, they reached the door of Ulrich’s dorm. The two entered the building, enjoying the warmth of the heater, before the two ended up at Ulrich’s door. When they arrived, Ulrich looked at Odd.

            “Tonight was…” Ulrich couldn’t quite describe the experience.

            “Perfect.” Odd finished it, and Ulrich couldn’t disagree. He felt like he had gained a lifelong friend, despite having only met a few hours before.

            “Do you wanna come inside?” Ulrich offered, but Odd knew that it was only the first time.

            “I’m gonna head back to my place.” Odd turned it down, as Ulrich looked visibly disappointed. Then, Odd gave his signature smirk, before closing the distance between the two’s lips. Ulrich was shocked at first, instinctively nearly pulling back, but soon he closed his eyes letting his internal desires choose over his mind. He leaned forward, kissing Odd back. After a few moments that felt like an eternity, Odd broke away.

            “That’s just something for you to remember me by until next time.” Odd spoke coquettishly, pointing to Ulrich’s hand. The other boy looked down to see a tiny slip of paper with a phone number as he smiled upon this realization.

Ulrich was about to say more, but when he looked up, he already saw Odd walking out. Ulrich gripped the slip of paper in his hand tighter, giving a small smile in the direction of Odd, before stepping back into his dorm, content with all that had happened.


End file.
